The daughter of retired U.S. diplomats, Jehanne Du ow was born in Italy and grew up in Poland, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Belgium, and the United States. Ironically enough, it's her husband, Jeremy Schaub, a lieutenant commander, who does all the traveling now. The couple met while in college at St. John's, dated for a year and a half, oke up, and ended up marrying in 2005 after eight years of remaining in touch despite Schaub's travels and Du ow's time spent earning her M.F.A. and Ph.D. In fact, their unconventional marriage is the topic of Du ow's latest collection of poetry, Stateside. In the poems, she likens herself to Penelope, wife of legendary military hero Odysseus, of Homeric fame. It’s no coincidence that the couple decided to name their dog Argos, after Odysseus’ faithful canine companion. While it might be assumed that her husband and dog serve as her muses, Du ow disagrees. “I actually don’t believe in the concept of inspiration. I do believe in work that excites you.” Writing is not the only work that excites Du ow, who serves on the Honor Board and teaches literature and creative writing at Washington College in Chestertown. Although she’s won numerous awards for her poetry, she isn’t satisfied. “I don’t yet feel like I’ve had any kind of national recognition, and I have big ambitions for myself.” In the next five years, she hopes to have at least one new poetry collection out, as well as a series of essays. Eventually, she’d like to explore travel writing. At the top of her list of places to visit is Krakow. “My dream is to live there, and practice my Polish, and eat plum cake,” she says with a smile.
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- Emily Wilson
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